Tell you what, if we really want to stop crime in Toronto, let’s also ban murder. And theft. Let’s ban running red lights and jaywalking while we’re at it.

Wait a sec! Those things are banned? Well, then, if people already aren’t allowed to carry handguns and if people are already not allowed to shoot other people with those handguns, that means a ban would be nothing more than political window dressing?

Hmmm…

Fact is, you cannot carry a concealed weapon in this city and legal gun owners (who hunt, collect, or shoot for sport) face stringent regulation to possess their weapons.

I used to be all “let’s ban guns” too – until a member of my family took up sport shooting. That’s when I began to learn more about the hyper regulation that is already in place for gun owners.

For example, it is a serious offense to remove your legally owned handgun from your home. You need a permit that states the name of your gun club (and if you don’t belong to a gun club, you may not own a handgun). With that aforementioned permit, you may transport your gun directly to and from your club only. Get pulled over with your gun nowhere near your gun club – even if it’s locked up and unloaded, as it’s required to be – and you are facing serious charges and, likely, a lifetime ban.

The people killing each other in Toronto have, overwhelmingly, been in trouble with the law before. Heck, the alleged Eaton Centre shooter was supposedly under house arrest at the time of the shooting. No one who has committed a crime within the past five years can legally own a gun.

That means he likely had a lifetime prohibition from owning a firearm. Well, guess what? If that’s the case, then he broke the law by being out and about while under house arrest AND by having a gun. How on earth would a ban have prevented that?

Are we getting the picture here?

Will a thug with a hankering to settle a score with a rival be deterred by a ban? Will he reach for his illegal weapon only to think better of it when the headlines declare that action a no-no? Doubtful.

What I’m getting at is this: The people who are shooting each other on the streets of Toronto are not legal gun owners. People who shoot each other with illegal guns don’t seem to care that murder is illegal or that their guns are illegal. So what exactly is a ban going to accomplish? It could be symbolic, yes. But we need more than symbolism here to stop criminals from shooting each other in our city.

Rachel is a writer, condo dweller, urbanite and an unabashed lover of all things Toronto - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Her first novel for young adults, The Lewton Experiment, is available now ... read morefrom Tradewind Books.
Follow her shenanigans on Twitter @Rachel_Sa or drop her a line at: rachel @rachelsa.comView author's profile